Why is it important? On Tuesday, the United States broke ranks with European allies and said it was exiting the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing sanctions on Iran, the fifth-largest producer of oil in the world and the third-largest among the grouping known as OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). The general reading is that it would check oil supply at a time when it was already tight, keeping oil prices firm.

What is it?The number of services such as railways and telecom that India will include to come up with a producer price index (PPI) on a trial basis next month.

Why is it important? This will help track inflation in the services sector, which accounts for 60% of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product). The new index would measure the average change in price a producer receives for its goods or services in domestic and foreign markets over time. Further, it would not include taxes, unlike the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), where the incidence of taxes is accounted for.

Tell me more:Many economies such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have adopted PPI, which helps in developing better policy measures.

13

What is it? The number of Indian banks that had filed a lawsuit in the UK High Court seeking to collect over $1.55 billion from business tycoon Vijay Mallya, who lost the case.

Why is it important? The court upheld an Indian ruling that relates to allegations that Mallya wilfully defaulted on loans worth about $1.4 billion taken for his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, in what is being seen as a legal victory for the consortium of lenders. The judge also refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing his assets. The banks’ attorneys say this would help enforce the underlying judgment given by the Indian debt recovery tribunal with immediate effect.

Tell me more: This sets a precedent for those seeking worldwide freezing orders of assets with respect to enforcing judgments against wilful defaulters, according to the firm that represented the 13 Indian banks.

Why is it important? This is against Rs 6,657 crore in March 2018 and Rs 9,529 crore in April 2017. Although the surge in April is partly being attributed to portfolio adjustments related to the beginning of a new financial year, the numbers suggest a continuance in the flow of retail money into equity funds through systematic investment plans (SIPs) and a growing acceptance of equity funds as an investment vehicle.

Why is it important? The three clubs are Southampton, Huddersfield and Swansea. On Tuesday, Southampton beat Swansea 1-0 and gave themselves some breathing room. Swansea, on the other hand, are flailing with their fourth straight loss, the worst record in the last five matches among the bottom rung.

South India’s ‘Thalaiva’Rajinikanth is making his political debut this year. He said ‘it is time’ as he declared in Chennai that he will form a new party rather than joining the existing ones. After, AIDMK’s imposing leader, J Jayalalithaa’s death last year, the political scene in Tamil Nadu went through several changes at the helm, but nobody could equate the stature of the iconic leader. And, with the grand entrance of Rajinikath, that may change, but maybe not. Who’s to say!

45,000

What is it? The number of security personnel deployed in Assam ahead of the release of the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which will be made available to the public on January 1.

Why is it important? The Indian government will use the register to determine who in Assam—a state with a large presence of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh—is a citizen of India and who is not. This is the first exercise of its kind since 1951. It was an election promise of the BJP before it won the state elections in 2016, and its publishing can cause unrest in a state where the issue of immigration has long been a bone of contention.

Tell me more: Because of the illegal immigrant issue, Assam also has the lowest enrolment among states for Aadhaar, the unique identification number for citizens: while most states are nearing 100%, Assam’s is just 8%.

234

What is it? The number of assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu—meaning, all seats—from which iconic Tamil actor Rajinikanth’s party will contest the next Tamil Nadu elections.

Why is it important? On Sunday, Rajinikanth announced his entry into politics, adding to the political intrigue and churn in Tamil Nadu triggered by the death of AIADMK leader and then chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016. The state has seen 3 chief ministers in the last 13 months. And though elections in the state are due only in 2021, the expectation is that, given the flux, they could happen sooner.

Tell me more: Tamil Nadu politics has been a good stage for actors, and a similar transition was made by Jayalalithaa and her mentor MG Ramachandran. In 1996, Rajinikanth had a brush with politics when he indirectly endorsed the DMK. “If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu,” he had said. The AIADMK lost those elections.

50%

What is it? The increase in price of Ripple, the cryptocurrency that is also known as XRP, on December 28.

Why is it important? On the back of this 50% increase, the market capitalisation of Ripple rose to a record $85 billion. It peaked at about $100 billion, and leapfrogged Ethereum ($72 billion) as the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Designed for interbank payments and settlements, Ripple has about 100 banks signed on its platform, RippleNet, including Bank of America, RBC and UBS.

What is it? The number of games in the English Premier League (EPL) that Arsene Wenger has been in charge at Arsenal, following the football club’s latest game on Sunday against West Bromwich Albion.

Why is it important? That is an EPL record for the maximum number of games managed with a single club, in a single stint. This record was previously held by Alex Ferguson, who was in charge at Manchester United between 1992 and 2013, and whose career often crossed paths with that of Wenger’s.

Why is it important? In a new year’s message to the airline’s staff, Pradeep Singh Kharola, who took over as India’s managing director and chairman in December, said “we have to perform if we do not want to perish”. Air India’s employee base is nearly twice that of IndiGo, though Air India’s revenues are only 24% more than that of IndiGo, which is one indicator of the efficiency gap.

Tell me more: The government has initiated the process of privatising Air India and its subsidiaries in 2018, and is looking to complete it in the next six to eight months.

Air India has been bleeding money for quite some time. At the end of March’17, it had piled up debt of nearly Rs. 48,000 crore. Nontheless, it has found suiters in Tata Group and parent company of IndiGo. But, that’s not enough for the government. It wants to raise the stakes, so it may do away with the ‘foreign airlines can own 49% stake in an Indian airline but not Air India’ rule. More bidders, better pricing. Why would a buyer be interested in owning a debt laden company? You ask? Government is hiving off a part of Air India’s loan not linked to the aircraft, a 64% of its debt.

Why is it important? With this, the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist alliance is heading towards a majority, with Khadga Prasad Oli likely to be the country’s Prime Minister. This brings an end to the decade-old civil war in Nepal and completes its move to becoming a federal democracy. It remains to be seen if the Left Alliance’s landslide victory results in the waning of India’s influence on Nepal and China playing a dominant role in the landlocked nation.

Tell me more: The Left Alliance was leading in another 31 seats, while the incumbent Nepali Congress had won just 13 seats. The house of representatives consists of 275 members, of which 165 are to be elected directly under the first-past-the-post system and the rest through the proportional representation system.

Why is it important? The Indian government may reportedly do away with this exception for the disinvestment of state-run Air India, provided the foreign airlines has a joint venture with a local player. This could intensify competition among bidders interested in buying Air India and, perhaps, fetch the government a better price. The parent company of IndiGo is the only airline to have made a formal expression of interest, while the Tata Group has indicated its interest in doing the same.

Tell me more: Jayant Sinha, union minister of state for civil aviation, said on Friday that the process of privatisation of Air India has begun and that it would be finalised in 6-8 months.

Tell me more: The two fund classes that have lost share during this period are both debt funds: income funds (down from 46% to 38%) and liquid funds (down from 21% to 19%).

67%

What is it? The rate at which Amazon India’s gross sales volume increased in the July-September quarter from a year ago. Its gross sales by value grew 67% in the same period.

Why is it important? This is more than twice the estimated broader growth rate of the online retail market. It is another indication that Amazon India continues to keep pace with India’s homegrown e-commerce firm and marked leader, Flipkart. In a recent report on customer response and perception by RedSeer Consulting, both e-tailers were tied with a score of 92, similar to the corresponding quarter in the previous year, when they had both scored 95.

Why is it important? On Sunday, leaders Manchester City visited cross-town rivals and second-placed Manchester United in a game with many sub-texts and dominated them in a 2-1 victory. In a weekend when four of the top six teams in the league dropped points, City extended their lead to 11 points. They next travel to Swansea, which is languishing second from the bottom.

Tell me more: The Manchester Derby ended with a fracas in the corridor outside City’s dressing room involving players and staff from the two teams.